Chapter 31: Sadness: The Defeated Dog Was Brutally Humiliated by the Heavenly Descent

At the moment the match ended, Might Guy rushed to Rock Lee’s side to check his injuries.

Behind him followed Tenten and Neji Hyuga.

The wielder of the Six Paths Tools paid little attention to Luo Jie, his eyes fixed entirely on his injured comrade.

Yet the Hyuga prodigy with the Byakugan turned his gaze toward Luo Jie.

Luo Jie sensed his stare.

So it’s that born-evil Hyuga brat.

Brat, using a Toushi hack will get Itachi banned.

Suddenly, a spark of interest appeared in Luo Jie’s eyes.

Huh, he’s walking toward me.

After witnessing my power, he didn’t retreat—he chose to approach me willingly.

Admirable courage!

Neji Hyuga suddenly halted his steps.

He straightened his back and stared directly at Luo Jie.

“Lee’s strength exceeded my expectations, yet even with all his effort, he still couldn’t defeat Itachi.”

“But as his comrade, I will defeat Itachi in the upcoming official matches!”

Neji Hyuga declared solemnly:

“Remember my name—Neji Hyuga!”

Hearing this, Luo Jie’s lips curled slightly upward.

“Fine, arrogant brat—I accept your challenge.”

At the same time, on the main spectator stand, the Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched Luo Jie in silence.

Who would have thought this child already possessed such immense power?

According to Anko, Luo Jie fought Orochimaru in the Death Forest.

To escape unscathed from my own worthless disciple…

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but sigh.

Who would have thought that near the end of his life, as his sun neared setting, he would discover another genius like Minato—a commoner-born ninja?

Such talent is exceedingly rare.

I must nurture this child well—absolutely cannot let Danzo the old devil find him.

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to personally take charge of his training.

…

The following matches proceeded much as in the original.

The treacherous fox brat used poison gas to blind Kiba Inuzuka.

The Hyuga civil war: the humble Caged Bird brutally beat the noble young lady.

Yet in subtle details, it differed slightly from the original.

Because Jian Meicheng was burned to charcoal by Luo Jie in the Death Forest, because Sakura withdrew early, and because of Luo Jie’s match with Rock Lee.

This altered the tournament’s flow somewhat.

Asama Yagura replaced Sakura in facing Ino Yamanaka.

Two girls, both enamored with Luo Jie, engaged in open female rivalry.

Now, they met on the battlefield and seized this chance for a raw, fist-to-fist woman’s duel.

Ino Yamanaka struck first, unleashing her prized Mind Body Switch Technique.

For an ordinary genin, this secret art was nearly impossible to resist.

Yet Ino faced Asama Yagura, who possessed a Kekkei Genkai.

There was only one path left—defeat.

Sadness—the defeated dog was brutally humiliated by the heavenly descent.

But the instant the golden-haired defeated dog was eliminated,

Rokudo Toss, from the Sound Village, was crushed to death by the born-evil raccoon demon boy.

He died horribly, not even leaving a whole corpse.

Yet in the original, he too died at Gaara’s hands.

Perhaps fate had simply asserted itself.

As for the original opponent of Toss, Choji Akimichi, he fought Kankuro.

Choji naturally lost in regret.

It wasn’t that the Leaf’s young master couldn’t beat the Sand’s.

It was just that against the nobler second-generation Kage, the ordinary ninja second-the Root looked inadequate.

Besides, Kankuro wasn’t just any ordinary second-the Root Kage.

His father was the Kazekage, his brother was the Kazekage, his brother-in-law was the Hokage.

Could such fortune be small?

As one intense match after another concluded,

the final list of qualifiers was finally revealed.

Those who advanced: Luo Jie, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Shino Aburame, Asama Yagura, Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha.

Aside from all three second-the Root Sand ninja advancing, only Kakashi’s and Aoba’s teams each had two students qualify from the Hidden Leaf.

Though they failed to achieve a perfect full-team advancement, Aoba’s face still beamed with uncontainable joy.

As soon as the matches ended, he took Luo Jie, Yagura, and the newly awakened Lei Menyue to celebrate with a meal.

“Come on, everyone eat your fill tonight!”

Aoba laughed as he urged them on.

The preliminary round was over; a full month of rest remained before the official matches.

The contestants could use this time to intensify their training.

In this regard, the Hidden Leaf’s local candidates held a greater advantage.

At the dinner table, Luo Jie turned to Asama Yagura.

“Yagura, what are your plans from now on?”

Yagura was picking up a slice of fresh sashimi.

Hearing Luo Jie’s question, she gently set down her chopsticks, tilted her head slightly, and bit her lower lip.

“My father mentioned that if I passed the preliminaries, the clan elders would train me.”

Luo Jie nodded slightly.

Though the Asama clan had now declined, it was once a famed Hidden Leaf illusionist clan.

It surely still retained considerable depth.

In this month, Yagura will surely make significant progress under the elders’ guidance.

Sitting beside them, Aoba, still wearing his sunglasses even while eating, smiled and spoke:

“Luo Jie, starting tomorrow, I will train Itachi intensively for a month.”

“Though your current strength has already surpassed even your teacher.”

“Itachi still lack theoretical knowledge—I’ll properly teach Itachi chakra nature and shape transformation.”

Luo Jie replied gratefully: “Thank Itachi, Master Aoba.”

He felt a flood of emotions.

Recalling his time at the Ninja Academy, his theoretical scores had always ranked among the highest, far exceeding his practical results.

Who could have imagined that now his practical skill would far outstrip his theoretical knowledge?

Sigh—cheat system.

As for Lei Menyue, he sat gloomily shoveling food into his mouth.

As a loser of this preliminary round, his regret was channeled entirely into eating.

I’m eating, eating, eating!

Just moments ago, Lei Menyue woke up and realized he had lost to Sasuke Uchiha.

He froze in shock.

No way—I hadn’t even used my Lightning Release yet!

Losing to peak Sasuke Uchiha was understandable.

After all, Mouth Release ranks just below Talk Release as a powerful technique.

Moreover, Sasuke Uchiha possessed the power of Kuangxiaozhili .

Naturally, he was no match.

But after finally encountering a half-dead Sasuke Uchiha,

how could he have lost?

Can’t I get one more chance?!

But reality offered him no do-over.

“Waiter! More rice!”

Lei Menyue transformed into a food monster, shouting at the top of his lungs, drawing glances from all around.

……

Night fell like water, moonlight gently spilling over the streets and alleys of the Hidden Leaf Village.

After the gathering ended, Rojie walked home alone.

It feels so quiet!

There are no ninja from other villages on the streets—what a difference from daytime.

Ah, probably the ninja from other villages are all resting.

Everyone is working hard, and Yunkun is working hard too…

I’ll push myself harder, knight!

As long as I don’t stop walking, the road will keep stretching ahead.

Hss—!

Suddenly, Rojie sensed something, halted his steps, and slowly turned his head to the side.

There, an old man stepped slowly out of the shadows.

It was none other than the Third Hokage, the lofty and noble!

(End of Chapter)